Apparatus for washing phosphate-rock.



G. L. DAVISON.

APPARATUS FOR WASHING PHOSPHATE ROCK. APPLICATION FILED JULY 18. 1913.

LMQQfiQD Patented May 25, 1915.

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APPARATUS FOR WASHING PHOSPHATE ROCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1913.

Patented May 25 1.9159

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GEORGE L. DAVISON, F MOUNTFLEASANT, TENNESSEE, ASSIG-NOR T0 RUHM PHOS-PHATE MINING- GQMPANY, OF MOUNTPLEASANT, TENNESSEE, A CORPORATION OFTENNESSEE.

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Application filed July 18, 1913. Serial No. 779,794.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that T, Gnonon L. DAvIsoN, acitizen of the United States, residing in Nountpleasant, Tennessee, haveinvented certain Improvements in Apparatus for Washing Phosphate-Rock,of which the following is a specification.

In preparing Tennessee phosphate rock for i the market much of it must,after mining, be

put through a washing process to separate it from the clay and otherearthy impurities with which it is usually associated. After the clayand earthy impurities have been kneaded and tempered by means of acrusher, pug mill,-log washer, or like device, it is necessary toseparate the lumpy and granular particles of phosphate from the clay andother earthy impurities by a washing operation, and the object of myinvention is to provide efficient means for the latter purpose. v

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of acylindrical washer constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2is a transverse section of the same on the line a-a, Fig. 1, butomitting the mechanism at the lower end of the cylinder; Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line bb, Fig. 1, showing said mech anism; Fig.i is a plan View of a riflle box separator used in connection with thecylindrical washer, and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal although this is notessential.

section of the same.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing,l'represents a longitudinal cylinder of any available material and ofany desired length and diameter, this cylinder being mounted in aslightly inclined position upon suitable supporting rollers 2 and beingrotated in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, by any appropriatemechanism which it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate ordescribe.

The cylinder has a seriesof internally projecting lifters 3, preferablyin the form of angle bars bolted to the inner wall of the cylinder,these angle bars being, preferably, discontinued some distance from theends of the cylinder for a after explained.

Projecting into the upper end of the cylinder is a feed trough 4 thebottom of which may be provided with rifles 5, if desired, The lower endof the cylinder has a central opening purpose herein- .of the cylinder.

surrounded by an outwardly projecting discharge flange 6 and projectinginto said central opening from the inside of the cylinder is an annulardeflector 7 with radiating ribs 8 projecting therefrom/ to the innerwall of the cylinder, and, by preference, bearing upon the lower end ofthe cylinder, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Projecting inwardly through thecentral opening of the annular deflector 7 is a pipe 9 downwardly bentat its inner end and terminating in a nozzle 10 which discharges towardthe lower end A trough 11 receives the material discharged from theflanged outlet 6 at the lower end of the cylinder and conveys the sameto any suitable point of discharge. The upper end of the cylinderdischarges into the upper end of a trough 1'2 centrally pivoted at saidupper end so that its lower end can be swung into line with either oftwo sets of longitudinal ritlie boxes 13 and 13 (Fig. -l) eachconsisting of a box open at the top and at one end and having atsuitable intervals transverse riiiles 14 so as to provide progressivelydecreasing height, as shown in Fig. or, if of the same height, theriftle box being suitably inclined so that each receiving chamber willdischarge into the chamber in advance.

Near the lower end of each receiving chamber the side of the box has anopening, normally closed by a plug 15, so that material accumulating inthe receiving chambers of either box can be readily removed therefrom,as by washing it, through the openings SpecifieatiLers Patent. PatentedMay 25, F915. i I

The water supplied by the trough 5 and by the pipe 9, as hereinafterdescribed, soon establishes and thereafter constantly maintains a fixedlevel of water in the lower portion of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 1,and as the solid material passes down the inclined bottom of thecylinder toward the lower end thereof it is subjected to the constantaction of the lifters? and is thereby alternately raised from and thrownback into the water, thereby washing the adhering bodies of clay orearthy matter from the particles ofphosphate rock, so that, by the timethe latter reach theilower end of the cylinder, they are reasonably freefrom such impurities. In order, however, to complete the washingoperation the mass at the lower end of the cylinder is subjected to theaction of a jet or jets of clean water from the nozzle 10 of the pipe 9which is in communication with any available supply of such clean waterunder pressure. 7 cleaned particles of hosphate rock are de liveredfromthe lower end of the cylinder into the directing trough 11, theparticles being first raised from the mass in the bottom of the cylinderby the blades 8 and then directed by the latter into the annulardefiector 7 which discharges them into the flanged outlet 6, the latterin turn delivering them into the trough 11, as shown in Fig. 1.

The constant inflow of water into the cylinder causes a current or flowtoward the.

upper end of the cylinder and this flow carries with it theclay orearthy matter which has been'washed from the phosphate rock and also thesmaller and lighter particles of rock and sand, and in order to recoverthe I latter the discharge from the upper end of By discontinuing thelifter ribs 3 short of the cylinder is directed by the trough 12 intothe first chamber of one or other of the riffl'e boxes 13-13 saidchamber, when it becomes filled with water, overflowing into the nextchamber ahead of it, and so on throughout the seriesof chambers.

The body of water in the receiving chambers of the rifiie box carrieswith it, in its flow from chamber to chamber, only the mud and lighterimpurities contained in it, the particles of phosphate rock or sandsettling in the lower portion of each chamber, as shown in Fig. 5. Whena suflicient amount has'accumulated in either rifile box the directingtrough 12 may be'swung over so as to direct the discharge from thecylinder 1 into the other rifile box and the plugs 15 of the loaded boxmay then be removed and the contents of the receiving chambers of saidbox washed therefrom into a collecting basin or other suitablereceptacle from which the water is subsequently drawn ofl.

, the lower end, of the cylinder the mass of material is permitted toaccumulate in said lower end in position to be readily acted upon by thejet or jets from a nozzle 10, and I The thoroughly by discontinuing theribs at and-near the upe per end of the cylinder I prevent agitation ofthe body of water at that point, such as would tend to prevent the flowof water toward the upper end of said cylinder and the carrying of thelighter impurities with it for discharge from said upper end.

I claim:

1. The combination, ina phosphate rock washer, of an inclined cylinderhaving a central dischargeat its lower end, means for feeding thematerial to be washed into the upper portion of said cylinder,'means for,malntainlng such a volume of water in the cylinder as will'cause anoverflow from the upper end of the same, lifting ribs on the inner Wallof the'cylinder for raising the material from the .water and thendropping it back into the same as I the material flows through thecylinder, the lifting ribs being discontinued some distance short of thelower end of the cylinder so as'to provide a settling chamber at saidlower end, means at the lower end of the cylindenfor raising thematerial from the bottom of the same and discharging it through thecentral outlet, and a clean water pipe having a nozzle directed towardthe material in said settling chamber and serving to discharge a jet ofclean water directly into said material.

2. The combination, in a phosphate rock washer, of an inclined cylinderhaving a central discharge at its lower end, lifting ribs on the innerwall of the cylinder for raising the material and thendropping it back,said lifting ribs extending only part way throughout the length of thecylinder so as to provide at the upper end'of said cylinder a zone ofsuch extent that the bulk of water therein will be free from disturbanceby the ribs, means at the lower end of the cylinder for raising thematerial from the bottom of the same and discharging it through thecentral outlet, and means for feeding to that portion of the cylinderwhich is provided with the lifting ribs the material -to bewashed-together with water in volume sufficient to cause overflow fromthe upper end of the cylinder.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence oi two subscribin witnesses.

' EORGE L. DAVISON.

Witnesses:

. JNo. RUHMLJI. C. Y. CLARKE.

